The United States should make internet service providers retain user records to help prosecutors fight child pornography, says the country's top lawmaker.

Federal law enforcement authorities need Congress to pass legislation to help them collect information they can use to build criminal cases, despite concerns of some ISP executives who fear new laws could encroach on individual privacy rights, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the Senate banking committee Tuesday.

Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller met privately with several ISPs earlier this summer, indicating that they must keep customer records for as much as two years. If ISPs voluntarily retain data, it would help avoid the need for legislation.

During those meetings, the FBI also said such records would help their terrorism investigations, said a source who attended the meetings but spoke on condition of anonymity.

ISPs that met with federal officials include Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, Comcast Corp., Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc.

Canadian lawyers oppose monitoring

In Canada, the Canadian Bar Association has raised concerns that ISPs here are watching and probing their customers' online activities without proper legal authority.

"The CBA is concerned that ISPs are amending their service agreements with customers to announce that they will 'monitor or investigate' how customers use their services, and will 'disclose any information necessary to satisfy any laws, regulations or other governmental request from any applicable jurisdiction,' " Brian Tabor, a CBA past president, wrote to three federal ministers in July.

"This seems to be introducing a corporate or industry content monitoring scheme, without the necessity of prior authorization or oversight."

The letter — addressed to Vic Toews, the justice minister and attorney general; Stockwell Day, the minister of public safety; and Maxime Bernier, the minister of industry — also says that prior judicial authorization is essential for "lawful access" to internet communications, especially between attorneys and clients, and "blanket customer agreements without prior judicial authorization or oversight do not meet that test."

With files from the Associated Press